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Mary GershwinPresident and Founder |
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About Conexão Mundo |
Mary Gershwin is the Founder and President of US-Brazil Connect, the leading non-profit organization linking Brazil and the US through educational exchange and economic development innovation. Founded in 2011, US-Brazil Connect has created a scalable and affordable model for global exchange and learning, raising more than $5 million in support to send 500 college students and young professionals to Brazil to learn and work with more than 5000 Brazilian technical students.With over 30 years of national leadership in higher education, workforce development, and philanthropy, Gershwin first went to Brazil as a high school exchange student, when the country was under a dictatorship; a person born poor in Brazil was destined to die poor, and the flow of global trade was a trickle of what exists today. By 2011, Brazil was a democracy, and more than 32 million people in the country of 200 million had entered the middle class. Gershwin saw that this shift presented an untapped opportunity for the US and Brazil to join forces as partners to meet pressing educational demands. Like the US, Brazil now faced the challenge of educating an emerging workforce for challenging jobs in a global economy. Gershwin believed this demand for global skills could not be solved by working in isolation; both countries could be stronger by coming together to solve our skilled workforce challenges. Committed to this vision, Gershwin formed US-Brazil Connect, convened a consortium of leading community colleges, and partnered with Brazil’s Confederation of Industry (CNI) to create Conexão Mundo. With the support of a strong US-Brazil Connect team, this unique educational program now operates in 32 cities in Brazil and engages US participants from 22 states. It is also supported by 18 Brazilian Industry associations, six US community colleges, the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and a host of community organizations and corporations. In additional to the Conexão Mundo program, US-Brazil Connect has created innovative exchange for STEM education, executive exchange, urban planning, and faculty development. Prior to founding US-Brazil Connect, Mary was recognized as a national expert in building public-private partnerships for a better-prepared workforce. With the support of the Ford Foundation, The Lumina Foundation, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the American Association of Community Colleges, she designed and led a national program to strengthen business engagement in community college solutions. In 2009-2010, she was tapped by the White House to spearhead a rollout of national and international initiatives focused on the intersection of workforce development, business engagement and economic competitiveness. She has also served as an international educational advisor and evaluator for the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Brazil. Gershwin has taught at the graduate level and holds a B.A. in Economics and a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Denver. Fluent in Portuguese and conversational in Spanish and German, she serves on several international, workforce, and community-related boards. Gershwin has two grown children and lives in Denver, Colorado. |
